


Five Times Mako Didn't Say I Love You (And One Time He Said It)

by OurImpavidHeroine



Series: The Abdication of Hou-Ting LIV or: How Wu Learned to Stop Being Foolish and Love the Detective [4]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:47:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3439295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OurImpavidHeroine/pseuds/OurImpavidHeroine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six Vignettes, set after the end of "Dear Diary or: How I Had a Second Coronation and a Dalliance with a Detective."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Conservatory

It was Wu's driver that picked him up at the train station in Ba Sing Se. He was disappointed. Stupidly disappointed, really. He knew Wu was busy, knew that he couldn't spare the time to make his way all the way to the train station.

His driver was a friendly man; he and Mako chatted pleasantly about pro-bending the entire drive back to what had been the Upper Ring a few years back. He dropped him off outside of the wing of the Palace where Wu was living; Wu's secretary, Nuo, was waiting for him.

"Good afternoon, Officer Mako," she said with a smile. "Welcome back to Ba Sing Se."

"Thanks, Miss Nuo," he said. He felt gritty and tired. He must have looked it, too, because she gestured at the door.

"His Majesty will be another hour or so. You've time to freshen up, if you like." 

He did like, as it happened. He walked into Wu's rooms, which looked just the same as when he'd last seen them, four months prior. The portrait of Wu's mother was on the wall as well as several photographs he hadn't seen before. He'd look at them later, but all he wanted now to was to hit the shower. After the shower he'd take a nap until Wu showed up.

He was woken up sometime later by a knock on the door. "Coming," he called, and tried to shove his still slightly damp hair back from his eyes. It was Nuo at the door. "I've come to escort you to His Majesty," she said.

"Uh, can you give me a second? To comb my hair and get my shoes on?"

"Of course. Take as much time as you need." He quickly ran a comb through his hair and yanked his shoes and spats on, as well as his jacket. His trousers were a little wrinkled from his nap, but they'd have to do. He joined Nuo and they walked through the residence wing and through a courtyard before going through another hallway. He hoped there would be someone to escort him back, he was lost already.

Several twists and turns later they were standing before a great glass structure, curving beautifully up into the sky. "The Conservatory," smiled Nuo. "His Majesty is inside, waiting for you."

Mako pushed through the doors and into the lush beauty of the Conservatory itself. It was slightly humid inside and he paused for a moment, sniffing deeply. It smelled of growing things, of earth and vegetation with the faintest perfume of flowers wafting through the air. He walked down the path, marveling at the different kinds of plants there. Wu had told him once that every plant native to the Earth Kingdom grew here. To his right was a little circle of grass, with willow trees unfurling above a stone bench set there. He could hear the sound of water; a few steps through and he could see a little brook running alongside the path. A flash of blue above him was a bird flitting high amongst the tree branches. He was completely entranced.

The path wound through until he was in the heart of the place; he couldn't even see the walls at this point. It was like he was in completely different world. He crossed a little wooden footbridge and stopped at its apex to stare down at the shivering orange and white and red swirls of koi below.

"They stocked the pond with them last week," said Wu. Mako turned his head to see him sitting on a blanket in a pretty little glade, surrounded by flowers. "I know I'll be leaving, but I couldn't bear to think of the pond without them."

Wu looked tired, despite his smile. He'd taken off his shoes and stockings and jacket; they were placed over a bench nearby. Sitting next to them was a large wicker picnic basket. He patted the blanket next to him. "Picnic," he said, and then laughed a little. Even his laugh sounded slightly weary.

Mako made his way to the glade, kicking off his own shoes and stockings and taking off his jacket as well. He slid down to the blanket and took Wu's face into his hands. "You look worn out," he said, and Wu snorted.

"Ah, there's my romantic Mako," he said. "Whatever happened to my darling! Light of my life! Your very presence in here makes my heart sing?"

Mako laid down and pulled Wu down with him. The grass was soft beneath them. "I'm worried about you," he said.

Wu sighed. "I'm surviving. I'll be okay. No way to the end but through it, right?"

Mako wasn't too sure about that, but now wasn't the time to argue. He hadn't seen him in four months. Four very long months. He kissed him; felt desire spool up with its familiar ache. He pushed it back; he wasn't a boy any longer, driven by hormones and lust. Spirits, Wu smelled good, though, like grass and that faint tinge of jasmine he always seemed to have about him. Nothing effeminate, just a trace that he could only pick up when he was very close to him. 

"We're all alone here," said Wu, and now his smile looked like his own, eyes twinkling with humor. "Just in case you wondered."

"You, me and the koi?"

"A few birds, too. And an iguana parrot, I'm told, although I've yet to see it."

"So really, there's no one to mind if I kiss you for awhile?"

"No one at all," said Wu, brushing his fingers across Mako's lips. "I missed you. So much. So very much."

"I missed you too," Mako replied, and he was surprised by his eyes filling up. "I hate this."

"I hate this too," Wu said. "But I love you."

Mako closed his eyes and kissed him, kissed him until all he knew was grass, jasmine and the taste of Wu.


	2. A Punch To The Jaw

He'd been stuck late at work; a knifing and two dead in the wharf district, an icy drizzle, a woman who took a swing at him unexpectedly and left him with what was shaping up to be a good-sized lump on his jaw that was going to darken into a hell of a bruise by morning. He was exhausted. He smelled like fish. His jaw ached and he was soaked to the bone and damn cold with it besides. The Chief had taken one look at him, jabbed her finger right into the meat of the bruise (which did nothing to help the pain out) and acerbically told him to put some ice on it and that she didn't want to see him at the station before noon the next day.

He just wanted to go home and take a shower and crawl into bed, fuck the ice. He left the station at a half-jog, figuring it was just as easy to cut across a few alleyways to make it home as it was to wait for the damn tram. If there was anything more miserable than a firebender in the middle of the night in an icy rain he wasn't sure what it was. A firebender in the middle of the night in an icy rain with a lump on his jaw, maybe. Who smelled like fish.

There was a light on in the window of his flat. He could see it from behind the curtains as he walked up the street.

He didn't bother with the elevator, just leapt up the four flights of stairs two at a time. He fumbled with the key a bit - the damn light bulb had been smashed in the hallway again, it was that fucking kid that was always making out near the stairwell with the girl that lived with her mother and three sisters down the hall, he just knew it - and then flung the door open.

He was there. Sitting at his table, a pack of cards in front of him, fanned out into some complicated pattern with rules probably only Wu himself knew.

It had been three and a half months since he had last seen him. One hundred and six days, if you were counting, and Mako was counting. Wu looked up at him, that sweet smile starting up before his eyes widened as he took in the swollen jaw.

"Mako! What happened to your-"

He never finished, because Mako'd kicked the door shut behind him and grabbed him by his shoulders, pulling him to his feet, the card in his hand tumbling to the floor. It hurt to kiss him, it hurt so much, but he didn't care. He smelled slightly of jasmine and of clean sheets and good food and he was warm, so warm, and he was here, and the detached and clinical part of his mind that never seemed to stop working wondered how the hell Wu had gotten in past his lock and what he was doing in Republic City instead of Ba Sing Se and where the fuck was his bodyguard but he pushed the thoughts away ruthlessly before taking him into his arms and half-carrying him/half-propelling him backwards into the bedroom.

He was rough, too rough, he kissed him too hard, he knew, snatched and tore at buttons, scraped his teeth down the soft column of his throat, held his shoulders down on the mattress with urgent implacability, entered him with a little too much force, couldn't even tell what was sweat and what were the icy rivulets from his sodden hair, sticking to his cheeks. He was so cold, and Wu was so warm, his eyes so green in the dim fall of light from the living room, he was there, he was there, and Mako was so weary of being alone. He couldn't get enough of him, of the taste and smell and feel of him and then Wu was shuddering under him, crying out his name, the sticky spill of his seed hot against his skin and Mako felt it coming, felt himself coming undone, and Wu had his hair tangled up in his fingers and _Yes_ he said and _I love you_ he said, and Mako tried to say it back, he wanted to, but the words couldn't make it out past the pain in his jaw and the fire consuming his spine and all the nights he'd laid here alone in this damn bed, trying not to count each day each minute each second he was across the world and oh, oh, it was _now_.

He drifted back into himself, trying not to shake, and then the rational part of his brain kicked in with a vengeance and he was ashamed, ashamed of his roughness and fierceness, ashamed he hadn't kept his cool, and he made himself look down at Wu, laying there in his arms, ready to take whatever he might see. Disappointment, anger, disgust, fear. Whatever it was he deserved.

He looked, and Wu was staring back at him and suddenly he grinned and said, "Well, _that_ was certainly worth the airship ride over," and he laughed, and with infinite gentleness, kissed the bruise on his cheek so tenderly that it didn't hurt.

"Warm me up, firebender," Wu said, and Mako realized that he was no longer cold. He wasn't cold at all.


	3. All Proceeds Go to Charity

Mako was finishing his warm up when the usher came back in. "Sorry, but no sign of him yet."

Mako sighed. "Shit."

Korra glanced up at him from her position on the bench, buckling on her leg guards. She'd already buckled on Bolin's arm guards for him. "Should we wait?"

Mako shook his head. "We can't, we've got a full crowd out there. He probably got held up or something. It's a long way from Ba Sing Se. I guess he'll get here when he gets here." He tried not to feel too disappointed.

"I'm sure he wants to be here, though? Right? He seemed pretty excited at the idea of seeing you doing pro-bending." Bolin stopped mid-stretch.

Korra snorted. "It's been awhile. Let's just hope we don't get our asses handed to us."

Bolin looked insulted. "I'm not about to have my ass handed to me by Tahno!"

Korra grinned. "Aw, come on, Bo. It's an ass handling for charity. Lots of people paying good yuan to see an ass handling tonight."

"Nobody's getting their ass handed to them tonight," said Mako absently. "Not unless it's the Wolfbats." He tried to shake it off. "We're good. We're tight. It's not a problem."

Korra laughed. "Way to give a pep talk, Mako."

"Fuck off, Korra," he said, and had to grin.

"Opal's really excited," said Bolin, dropping back down into his stretch. "She even knit Pabu his own little Fire Ferrets sweater!"

Korra looked mildly surprised at that. "Opal knits?"

Bolin got that goofy look on his face that meant he was talking about Opal. "Opal can do _anything_."

"Like handling your ass?"

"Opal doesn't handle my ass!"

"That's not what I heard!"

Mako tuned out their banter. Tonight was a big deal. The organizers of the event had gotten the majority of the old teams together to play this charity match, proceeds going towards rebuilding Republic City. The last time they'd done one of these - after Unalaq had caused the damage he did as the Dark Avatar - they'd had people coming from all over the world, raising a surprising amount of yuan. They'd raised even more this time around. The three of them had done pretty much nothing but train the past month, the Chief even giving him a sabbatical from work. She was out there tonight, sitting in Future Industries' box along with Asami and Tenzin's entire family. The Zaofu gang had even made it up; Su and Baatar and the twins had poked their heads in briefly to wish them luck before joining everyone else in the box. Wu was supposed to come in from Ba Sing Se, but it looked like he wasn't going to make it. He tried not to let it get to him. It wasn't like Wu wasn't crushed with work himself; as it was he'd just barely gotten back from a month spent in the troubled Southeastern Provinces. He sighed, and shook it off, picking up his arm guards and handing them silently to Korra to buckle them on.

She looked at him. "You gonna be okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about me."

She smiled, just a little, fingers tugging the straps of his arm guards tight. "I'm sure he's doing his best to get here."

"I know he is. It's fine."

Suddenly her arms were around him, and she hugged him tightly. "It's good to be doing this with you again." He hugged her back, and then Bolin was there, throwing his arms around the both of them.

"It's like old times again, huh? Just the Fire Ferrets, taking on the world!" Bolin grinned, irrepressible as always.

Another usher stuck her head in the door. "Five minutes, Fire Ferrets!"

Mako tied his red sash around his waist and donned his helmet. He looked over at his teammates. Korra was bouncing on the tips of her toes, grinning, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling. Bolin was talking up a storm; something about Opal, Mako supposed. He wasn't really listening. He was going to his calm place, feeling the fire coiled within him, waiting, as always, to burst forth. _Let me out_ , the fire begged. _Let me flicker, let me rage, let me dance from your fingertips. Let me_ burn.

 _Not yet,_ he told it. _Soon._

The three of them walked out together. He could hear the roaring of the crowd as they got closer and his heartbeat picked up. He loved this, he did, the anticipation, the crowd, the noise, the excitement. He'd missed it. He had no regrets at all about being a cop, but he really had missed this.

"Ready?" he asked, and Korra grinned at him. Bolin threw him a thumbs up.

Shiro Shinobi's voice carried through the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Back tonight, for one game only! Republic City's very own FIRE FERRETS!"

The crowd screamed as the three of them jogged into the ring, waving.  Mako quickly glanced up at Future Industries' box. They were packed in there, cheek to jowl, all of the people he cared about in the world, all dressed in Fire Ferret jerseys, from little Rohan all the way up to Lin, Tenzin, and even Pema. Someone had hung a handmade  _Fire Ferrets For The Win_ banner over the side and he could see Wing and Wei happily waving big foam fingers, crashing them into everyone sitting around them. 

"Hey!" shouted Bolin over the crowd, leaning in close. "Where they'd get the jerseys?"

Korra grinned. "Asami!"

Mako had to laugh a little at that. There was Asami herself, elegant and beautiful as ever, even in a Fire Ferret jersey. She blew kisses down, and Korra waved back, whooping in joy. Bolin was waving happily up at Opal, who was waving Pabu's paws back at him.

"That's right folks, we've got the powerhouse team back with us! Mako on firebending, Bolin on earthbending, and our very own Avatar Korra waterbending! Let's give them a hand!"

They waved at the crowd, turning in circles. Suddenly Mako caught a disturbance near the box. He squinted, and sure enough, he caught sight of a Kyoshi Warrior in full battledress, her head bobbing above the crowd as she ran. It had to be Yumi, Wu's bodyguard. It had to be. His heart started pounding. The door to the box slammed open, and there was Wu, dressed in a Fire Ferrets jersey, just like the rest of them. He threw himself towards the front of the box, chest heaving. He leaned forward, too far forward! but Lin shot a quick coil of cable around his waist.

"Well, would you look at who just arrived, all the way from Ba Sing Se! King Wu!" Shiro's voice went on, but Mako wasn't listening to it any longer. He had eyes for nothing but Wu, leaning over the edge of the box, waving at him. He waved back, and couldn't stop himself from grinning like a fool.

Lin tugged on the cable, shouting something at Wu, and he started to reel back. Before he did, he took both hands and made a heart out of them at Mako. Mako's hands rose of their own volition, scarred and non-scarred fingers meeting in the middle to form a heart back. He probably looked like an asshole. He didn't care.

The referee blew his whistle, and he turned and put himself into place, waiting for the next whistle to blow.

 _Now?_ asked the fire. _Now?_  

The whistle blew.

 _Now_ , he told the fire, and it flew forth with all of the savage joy of his heart.


	4. Wallpaper Swatches

Mako stood next to the bare window, staring out into the backyard. The Chief was right, it was a huge piece of land for a city house, even for this neighborhood. He supposed that her mother, as an earthbender, would have found it necessary to have earth around. He couldn't stand a cold house, himself. It was choked with weeds and overgrown, but there were two tall and beautiful trees right in front of the window. Wu was having landscapers come in to work on it, but he was keeping the trees. He was glad.

Wu was nattering on about different shades of paint with the interior decorator. Interior decorator. Mako hadn't even known there were such things. Well, to be fair, it wasn't like he had spent all of his life living in places that actually had walls, anyhow. He still wasn't sure how it had come about that Wu had bought the old Beifong house; the Chief must have suggested it, he couldn't imagine how Wu would have heard of it, otherwise. He hadn't even known it existed. Personally, he couldn't blame the Chief for moving out all those years ago; it was four stories (one of those being a basement underground, which the Chief had said was a training space for her mother and her sister and herself and which Wu told him could be his, as well) in one of the older and very upscale neighborhoods, bordering a very lovely park. It wasn't the Sato estate or anything, but would certainly classify as a mansion. It didn't really read Lin Beifong. Well, to be honest, from all he'd heard it didn't read Toph Beifong either, but according to Wu it had been purchased by Toph's parents.

The Chief had made several cracks about what she thought Wu's decorating scheme would be, most of which revolved around red and gold. He was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen; he'd overheard Wu explaining to the interior decorator with what Mako liked to refer to as _His Royal Majesty's Tone_ that glitz was for the nouveau riche; mostly the house was being done in very soft and subtle greens and creams with what the interior decorator referred to as, "A few splashes of bold color." Whatever the hell that meant.

Wu had told him he was in charge of the basement floor. He had told the interior decorator (he couldn't even think the words with a straight face) to just repair whatever was there - Toph Beifong had good flooring already that was still holding up after all these years. The man started to wave paint samples at him and he told him that for the love of Raava, it was a training room and not a powder room, and to please just make it basic so he could train down there without feeling like a fool and made his quick escape.

Other than that, he was out. He'd live in whatever. He trusted Wu, which surprised his brother when he talked to Bolin about it. The thing is, though, that Wu actually did have some sense in his head, and he wasn't one to deliberately provoke for no good reason.  Decorating with animal skins (Bolin's guess as to their new decor) was completely unlike Wu. Hadn't these people ever seen how Wu dressed? The man had _style_.

"Are you in there?" He jolted back into attention. Wu was smiling at him.

"Sorry."

Wu laughed. "I lost you there for a minute."

"Just looking at the trees."

"They are beautiful, aren't they? According to the landscaper they are two different kind of plums. He said they'll flower and bear fruit, too. It will be nice to have fresh plums this year." Wu tucked his arm around Mako's. "Hey, I need to ask your opinion about something."

He led Mako up the stairs to the second floor, where all the bedrooms were. There hadn't been any bathrooms on that floor - or on the third floor, either - but Wu was having that all remodeled. He took him inside of one of the bedrooms. The floors had been redone - they were covered in a pale bamboo - and the walls had been repaired and the old windows replaced.

He showed Mako two large wallpaper samples tacked up to the walls. One was a very decorous pattern of light green stripes; the other was a pale pink, printed all over with brightly colored butterflies.  "I want your opinion on which one I should choose," he said.

Mako looked at him with confusion. "I don't understand. The green is nice enough, I guess, but don't you think the pink one is kind of...well, I don't know, kind of young? And, uh...pink?"

Wu brushed his fingers down the butterflies. "Well. Here's the thing. You know I've been in contact with Izumi about finding little Naoki another family to live with."

Mako nodded. Naoki was the foundling baby he'd given to his aunt and uncle to raise. She was about two and half years old now, and had just recently started shooting flame. It wasn't unheard of for a bender to start that early, but it _was_ unusual. It probably meant she had a great deal of potential. She had no control whatsoever over it, though, and being in a family full of earthbenders was not a good idea. Chow and LiLing were not at all happy about it, but they understood that she'd be better off - everyone would be better off - if she was living with a family who could help to not only control any accidental flame she might be throwing but who could make sure she was properly trained as she grew.

"Well. I was thinking about it. And I thought, well, certainly we could send her to the Fire Nation. Izumi would see to it personally that she would be placed with a good firebending family - and I daresay she'd probably continue to take an interest in her as well."

Mako nodded again. He wasn't sure where this was going.

"The thing is, though...I already know a very good firebender here in Republic City who could certainly raise a firebending child. Train her, too. Train her very well, in fact."

"You do?"

"I do." Wu was smiling at him, eyes dancing. He raised his eyebrows.

"I...wait! Wait wait wait. You aren't talking about me!"

Wu laughed.

"Wu, I don't know anything about children!"

Now Wu was really laughing at him.

"Well, not about small ones! And besides, I work all day! And sometimes at night!"

"I don't," said Wu, and he leaned forward to kiss Mako's cheek. "Look, I haven't said anything to anybody about this. Not Izumi, not your aunt and uncle. I just think that it would be a terrible thing to take her away from the only family she's known that way. At least you, you're still family. She knows you. You aren't a stranger. And I may not know the first thing about bending, but I know enough to know what kind of bender you are." He gestured around the room. "We have this big house. We have the room. Spirits know I have the money. I know we've never really talked about children, and it's probably very unfair of me to make this assumption without the two of us talking about it first. I don't even know if you want children. I do, though. I always have. I've always wanted a pile of them, brothers and sisters, like I never had. I want to give them all of the love I never had. I think we could do this, I think we could make it work. I think we could be good for her. And maybe she could be good for us, too." He took a deep breath, and brushed his fingers once again down the butterflies before looking at Mako again.

"I want you to know that I am okay with whatever answer you give. Like I said, I know Izumi will make sure she gets a good home. In any case, there's time. Izumi sent that firebender to stay with them temporarily and I daresay if we took her in we could keep the firebender here until we figured out something else a little more permanent. Just...think about it, okay? Take however much time you want, I know you need to think things over before you decide on them. Whenever you have an answer just let me know what wallpaper you want in this room. I'll be good with any decision you make, I promise." Wu kissed him again. "I love you," he said, and then left him alone in the room.

Mako stood there, staring at the wallpaper swatches. He thought about his parents, whom he only remembered from a distance now. He remembered his father's laugh, so like Bolin's; he remembered his mother smoothing down his hair when she'd come in to kiss him goodnight. He remembered holding Bolin close in the small shelter offered by the overhanging of an alleyway, trying to warm him with his own body, his stomach screaming at him since more times than not he'd given Bolin his own dinner as well. He thought of little Naoki the last time he'd seen her, a few weeks ago, brow furrowed with concentration as she sat on the floor with him, building with wooden blocks, her hair standing up on end like she'd stuck her finger in a socket. His aunt had told him that she was a very strong-willed and passionate child; well, maybe they should have guessed there was a firebender lurking under all of that.

He thought of Wu as a child, rattling around that huge cage of a palace, all alone and unloved. Unwanted.

He thought of how Wu's face lit up whenever he saw children, how he himself had even dared - alone in his bed, waiting for Wu to return from Ba Sing Se - to think about their future together, had even wondered to himself, never to be said aloud, if it might include children. Some day. In the future. When things had settled down, when they had settled down, when they were both a little older, a little more mature, a little more everything, really. Not now, not with Wu returning next week to Ba Sing Se for another month or two before coming back here for good. They weren't even married, they hadn't even talked about that, what with everything else going on. 

He thought it through in his deliberate way, turning it all over in his mind, considering all of the possibilities as the shadows from the window lengthened along the floor. And then he took the butterfly swatch off the wall and went downstairs to find the man he loved.


	5. A Boosted Car

"Name?" Mako held the pen over the paperwork on his desk, waiting.

"Qi," muttered the kid in front of him. Medium height, scruffy uncombed hair, clothes that looked like they'd been scavenged from dumpsters. Street kid. He knew the type. He'd _been_ the type.

"How old?"

The kid shrugged and answered in an unexpectedly hoarse voice, soft enough that Mako had to strain to hear it over the usual noise of the station. "Dunno. About sixteen, I guess. Why don't you check my fuckin' teeth?"

Mako suppressed a sigh and scribbled a description into the report. Typical Republic City mutt: warm beige skin, dark brown hair, muddy green eyes. Probably not a bender, or else Mako would have gotten a taste of it when he hauled the kid out of the car.

"Male or female?" Mako wasn't sure, actually. Could go either way, really. 

"Fuck you," snarled the kid. Well. Okay, then.

Mako raised an eyebrow, waiting. The kid just glowered at him. It was going to be like that, was it? This time he didn't suppress the sigh.

"Place of residence?"

The kid scoffed. "You're fuckin' kiddin' me, right?"

Mako wished he was fucking kidding. Well, technically speaking, what he wished was that he was anywhere but here, really. He didn't enjoy this any more than the kid did, not that he was going to volunteer that particular piece of information. It was already shaping up into a swell afternoon.

The phone on his desk rang. He picked it up. It was Feng, the officer manning the front desk, letting him know that Wu was there. Shit. He was supposed to go to lunch with Wu, and based on how well the kid in front of him was cooperating, it was going to be awhile. He asked Feng to send Wu back. He'd just have make his excuses. Again. This was the third time they'd tried to have lunch, and the third time he'd had to send Wu back home. It never seemed to piss Wu off, but it pissed Mako off. For one thing, he was hungry. For another, Wu had only moved back to Republic City a couple of months ago and he felt like there weren't enough hours in each day that he got to see him.

He heard laughter from the front of the room and glanced up and over. One of his co-workers was laughing at something Wu had said to her; Wu winked at her and made his way back through the room towards Mako's desk. He had his hands full of bags. He caught Mako's eye and smiled. He placed the bags on the desk with a flourish. "I brought you lunch," he said.

Mako was pretty sure that when they wrote the book of love they had included a man who brought you lunch.

Wu smiled down at the kid slouched in the chair. "Well, hello there."

The kid looked at him incredulously. Mako couldn't blame the kid. Wu was dressed to the nines, like he always was, his green suit pressed perfection. He was the one that looked out of place here amongst the mochi crumbs and battered desks (that were only two years old but still looked like hell) and stale leftover cups of tea and dusty window shades and wrinkled uniforms, not the grungy kid in front of him. Undeterred as always, Wu unloaded the bags. He'd been to Chin's and it smelled amazing. Mako's stomach rumbled. So did the kid's. 

"I brought lunch for Lin as well," Wu said. "Chin Junior said she hadn't been in yet for lunch." He sorted through the containers. "Here, these are for her."

Right on cue, Lin stuck her head out of the office and scowled. "You aren't supposed to be back here, Wu."

He smiled brightly at her, and lifted up a container. "I brought you lunch from Chin's."

Lin visibly wavered. "Huh. Well. You still aren't supposed to be back here, dammit."

Wu continued to smile at her. "I will be sure to keep that in mind next time." He pushed the containers towards Mako. "Here, you take her lunch. She'll just yell at me." Mako shook his head and took up the containers and walked back into Lin's office.

"How many times have I told him he's not supposed to come back here! Who the hell let him back?" Mako shrugged. He wasn't sure what she expected him to do about it. You could tell Wu not to do something until you were blue in the face and it never made a damn bit of difference. He just did what he wanted and came out of it with a smile. It was a skill Mako envied, quite frankly. He thought the Chief might envy it a bit herself. He held up the containers as a peace offering and put them down on her desk.

She sighed. "That little prick." She opened up one of the containers and took a deep sniff. "I should throw him in the lockup for an afternoon, just to show him I mean what I say."

She'd never do it, both she and Mako knew, but he wasn't fool enough to actually say so.

She shoveled some noodles in and jerked her head over at Mako's desk, seen through the slatted blinds in the glass wall of her office. Wu was perched on Mako's chair and Mako was completely unsurprised to see that he had given the kid something to eat. The kid was tucking into the food like nobody's business. "What's with the kid?" she asked.

"Joyriding."

Lin sighed. "Any priors?"

Mako shrugged. "No one seemed to recognize him...her? Not sure which. Maybe, but who knows, really?"

Lin grunted and took another bite. "Spirits, these damn kids. Like booking him will do anybody any good." She got up from her desk. "Better go and get some of your lunch before he hands it out to every sob story in this fucking town." She stuck her head out of her office door and pointed her chopstick at Wu. "You! Quit coming back here! This is a police station, not a fucking country club!"

Wu grinned at her and waved. "Sure thing," he called back. 

"Prick," Lin muttered, and went back to her desk.

"...it's not that hard, you just gotta remember to turn into the slide, not brake. If you brake you'll lose control of the car." The kid was talking to Wu with a mouth full of food.

"Well, that would explain why I crashed into those dumpsters, then!" said Wu. "Mako, did you know that Qi here is quite the excellent driver?"

Mako perched on the edge of his desk, as Wu was in his chair. He took up the one container that looked as yet unmolested. It was full of dumplings. "Are these yours?" he asked Wu, but Wu waved him off.

"I can always get more, eat up. So how well do you know the city, Qi?"

The kid shrugged. "Pretty good. Been on my own long as I remember. Didn't want nothin' to do with the Triads. Bad business, Triads."

"I should say so," said Wu. "And you say you can drive anything?"

The kid shrugged again. "Fix it, too. If I got the parts I can. Engines like me."

Wu nodded, fascinated. "I've always wished I could do that kind of thing." He leaned in a little closer. "Between you and me, I can't even drive."

The kid blinked at him. "Ain't nobody taught you?"

Wu laughed. "Well, Mako here tried. Even Asami Sato tried. It was simply no good. I'm a terrible driver. I'm not allowed behind the wheel any longer."

The kid suddenly cracked a grin at Wu. "That's kinda sad."

Wu shook his head in amusement. "It's not just kind of. It's _hideously_ sad. I must rely on taxis to get everywhere."

The kid thought for a second. "Wait, you know Asami Sato? Like Future Industries Asami Sato?"

"Had dinner with her just the other night," said Wu. 

The kid looked impressed. "That car I boosted? It was a brand new Satomobile. Right off the line. I wanted to see how she run."

Mako sighed inwardly. _Don't confess while sitting at a cop's desk, you moron_ , he thought. _Especially if you are eating said cop's lunch._

Wu brightened. "I have one of them! Asami gave it to me just two weeks ago. It's yellow. Lovely car, even if it is just sitting in my garage, collecting dust."

The kid's mouth dropped open. "Seriously? You got a Satomobile? Brand new?"

Wu nodded, and winked. "I have connections."

"Shit," the kid said, and momentarily stopped shoveling in food as a means of showing respect towards Wu's connections.

"Indeed," agreed Wu. "I don't suppose you would care to take it for a spin?"

The kid stared at him suspiciously. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, I have a new Satomobile. Which is just sitting in my garage. You would like to take a new Satomobile for a spin. Why not take mine? I'll even give you permission, so long as you promise to let me come with you. I'd love to see what she can do, too."

Mako pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Are you fuckin' with me?" the kid asked dubiously.

"My dear Qi, the only person I dally with is Mako, here."

Mako pinched harder. The kid barked out a funny little guffaw. "You're serious?"

"I am always serious! Except when I'm not. But right now, I'm serious. Look, I need a driver. You need a car to play with. How about we strike a deal. You drive me around wherever I need to go, and in return, you may play with my new car." He shrugged offhandedly. "There are some rooms above my garage. You may sleep there if you like. May as well, no one else is sleeping there. And I would hate for some street rat to steal my lovely new Satomobile just because there was no one there to keep an eye on it."

The kid stared at Wu. Hope flared. "But I'm just a street kid. You're a fancy gentleman."

Wu leaned even closer. "Point of fact, I'm actually an abdicated King. But let's not bother with titles, shall we? What I really am is someone who needs a driver. You up for being that driver?"

The kid stared at the floor. "I don't have a license or nothin'."

Wu waved his hand. "Oh, I'm sure we can work that all out. If you want the job, it's yours. Does 1000 yuan a week plus room and board sound acceptable to you?"

The kid looked back at him, eyes wide. "You'd pay me?"

Wu raised an eyebrow. "Well, people do get paid to work, generally speaking."

"But...1000 yuan, that's a lot of money."

Wu smiled, gently. "Well, if things work out and you like the job and want to keep it, we can negotiate for more. What do you say? Is it a deal?"

"But...why would you do this? For me?" the kid was completely bewildered.

Wu leaned over and gently squeezed the kid's shoulder. "Let's just say I have a weakness for street kids and leave it at that, shall we?" He smiled and stood up. "Let me just clear it up with Chief Beifong in there. And then, if you're ready, we can take a taxi back to the house and go for a drive!" He walked back to the Chief's office and shut the door behind him.

The kid stared after him, and then looked at Mako. "Who is that guy?"

Mako smiled. "Just who he says he is. Former King of the Earth Kingdom."

"He your boyfriend or somethin'?"

"Something like that, yeah."

The kid was silent for a moment, watching the Chief through the blinds, throwing her hands into the air and then pointing at Wu while he sat on the chair in front of her desk, smiling implacably at her. "You must love him a lot."

Mako stared at Wu as well. "You might say that."

Wu exited out the office, Beifong on his heels. "Hand to Raava, if you come back in here again I will throw your ass into lockup, I don't care if you are royalty or not!"

There were snickers around the office, which immediately stopped as soon as the Chief turned her irascible glare towards them. "Get back to work, you lazy bastards! What do I pay you for?" She slammed the door behind her.

Wu smiled. "So! No time like the present! Shall we go, Qi?"

The kid scrambled up. "Sure, Mister."

"Just Wu is fine." He winked at Mako. "See you in a few hours."

"Wu," started Mako, helplessly. "You can't just..." he waved his hands futilely.

"Everybody deserves a chance," Wu said, seriously. "Where would I have been without one? Where would you and Bolin be?" Mako just stared at him, and Wu's eyes softened. "I'll see you in a few hours. I love you." He turned around. "Come along, Qi! The yellow Satomobile awaits! Now tell me, are you one of those fascinating people who names their modes of transportation? Because I've always wished..." his voice trailed off as he led the kid towards the door.

Mako looked down at the wreckage of take out boxes on his desk. Picking up his chopsticks, he ate a dumpling. And thought, for the thousandth time, how very lucky he was.


	6. I Love You

"Wu, we'll miss the ferry if we aren't in the car in two minutes. Even Qi doesn't drive that fast." Mako checked the clock again. 

"Okay, okay, cool those fire jets of yours, I'm coming!" Wu hurried down the hall, Naoki in his arms. She was dolled up in a charming dress of ruffled pink, her hair in two little pigtails with bows. Mako would lay yuan those bows would not be long for this world. It was a nice thought, though. "Here, go to Daddy for just a moment," said Wu, dumping her into his arms.

"Daddy, we are going to the island?" she asked.

"Yes, for dinner," he replied. "Wu! Stop fussing with your hair and let's _go_!"

"Yes! Fine! I'm going!" Wu hurried out the side door where Qi was waiting with the car. Six months of regular feeding had filled Qi out a bit, and at some point the mop of hair had been cut and a uniform had been acquired. (Mako suspected Wu had made sure that had happened.) Mako still couldn't tell what gender Qi was - he'd asked Wu, who stared at him like he was an idiot and told him sharply that if Qi wanted them to know he was sure Qi would tell them. Mako left it alone after that. Qi drove like someone born to it and that was good enough for Wu; spirits knew that if anything was good enough for Wu then it was damn straight good enough for Mako as well.

Qi drove with usual assurance to the docks, smoothly bypassing all other vehicles that dared to be on the road. Mako tried not to think of the various traffic laws he was pretty sure were being broken. Naoki sat on his lap, watching out the windows with interest. "Zoom zoom," she whispered, in evident delight.

The ferry had already started its engines by the time they pulled up. Mako took Naoki up in his arms and hurried towards the gangplank. Qi saluted.

"See you later, Boss."

"We'll be back when we're back, Qi," said Wu, and flipped over a coin. "Put that on the Ba Sing Se Badgermoles for me, would you?" 

Qi saluted again. "Sure thing."

"Sorry to make you miss the match," Wu said as Mako gave him the hand that wasn't holding Naoki to help him to the deck. 

"Pro-bending will survive a match if I'm not in the audience," said Mako dryly. Besides, it was only the Badgermoles vs the Hog Monkeys. Not worth the price of admission, really.

Naoki wriggled to get down from Mako's arms. "Not on the boat," he said, but she tried even harder.

"Lin! Lin!" she said, pointing. Mako turned in surprise. His boss was walking towards them. "Hey, Chief," he said. "Are you going to dinner as well?" He stared at her a little uncertainly. She wasn't in uniform. He never quite knew what to make of her when she wasn't in uniform. 

She rolled her eyes at him. "You don't have to act so surprised over it. They do allow me ashore every once in awhile." She stared at Naoki. "What do you want?"

"Up?" said Naoki, hopefully. Lin scowled at her. Naoki was undeterred. She put out her arms. 

"Unbelievable," muttered Lin, taking the girl and settling her on her hip. "You think you can just crawl up me like a tree?"

Naoki thought about this for a moment. "Yeah."

"Well, you can't. I suppose you want to go and look over the side now?"

Naoki bounced up and down with excitement. "Yeah! Over the side! Let's go!" 

"Bossy as your father," Lin muttered. Mako wasn't exactly sure which father she meant. He wasn't really sure he wanted to know.

"Well, don't you look like a million yuan," exclaimed Wu, looking Lin up and down. "That's a new shade of lipstick too, isn't it? I like, I like."

Spirits. A new shade of lipstick. 

"Go away," Lin said, and she and Naoki walked over to the side of the ferry. Mako resisted the urge to tell her to be careful with the baby. He knew she would be, and he knew she'd have his ass on a spike if he actually said it.

It was a fairly quick ride over to Air Temple island. Mako smoothed down his hair. He had on a new suit - Wu had gone shopping earlier in the week and brought it home. He had to admit it was pretty nice. It was charcoal gray with amber accents that matched his eyes, not colors he'd normally pick but Wu had told him it would be wildly flattering and of course it was. He glanced over at Wu, who was wearing his customary green and yellow. Wu moved to pat his hair back into place as well, and the jade ring on his finger picked up the sun. 

Mako was trying, with this whole wedding thing. It wasn't that he didn't want to get married. He did. He really did. He looked down at his left hand, covered with its usual glove. The engagement ring was on underneath. Others couldn't see it, but he knew it was there. He just wasn't sure that he wanted this whole extravaganza that Wu was planning. Huge ceremony, huge reception, he had Zhu Li and Varrick involved. Mako knew that Wu was used to that kind of thing - royalty and all that - but he wasn't, and he dreaded it, a little. A lot, to be honest. But it was what Wu wanted, and Mako wanted him to be happy. He could just suck it up for a day.

The ferry docked and they got off. He offered to take Naoki back and Lin asked him with a pointed glare if he thought she was too old to carry a three year old around an island, damn it, which made Wu laugh. Naoki started giggling wildly because her Papa was laughing and Lin blew a raspberry at her, which only made her giggle harder.

He was surprised to see that they weren't going into the main house, but rather continuing on down the path. "Wait, aren't we going in for dinner?"

Lin sniffed at him. "What, we can't go for a stroll first? Your legs broken tonight or something?"

He threw up his hands in surrender. Clearly the Chief was in a mood tonight. 

She marched them up to the Air Nomad Temple and walked inside. Mako tried to catch Wu's eyes but he was following along behind her. With a small sigh Mako followed as well.

Inside the temple was softly lit with candles, smelling of incense and flowers. He stopped, glancing around him. The floor was covered with cushions and full of people. Korra and Asami were holding hands, turning around to look at them; Su and Baatar sat together, Huan to one side, Wei to the other. Wing sat with Nuo, Wu's former secretary. Opal was there with Bolin, her belly softly rounding under her traditional airbender robes. His entire family was there, even Yin, frail as she was. She was beaming at Wu, as always. All four of Tenzin's kids sat with their mother and Bumi, and Kai grinned at him when he made eye contact. Even Zhu Li and Varrick were there, Varrick with their own little girl on his knee. Yumi winked at him from her seat near Korra's.

"I'll just take her and sit down," said Lin, and then she leaned forward suddenly and kissed him on the cheek. His hand flew up to cover it. "Smooth," she mocked, and went to take a seat next to her sister, Wei scrambling up to move to another cushion at her look.

He stared wildly around the temple. "What?" was all he managed.

Wu took his hand in his. "I know you hate big shindigs," he said. "I know you never wanted that wedding. I figured this would be more your speed."

Mako stared at him. "But...you were making all those plans..."

Wu laughed and leaned in to kiss the same cheek Lin had kissed. "No, I wasn't. I just made you think I was."

"But...don't you want your party?"

"I have a whole lifetime of parties ahead," Wu said, and he smiled. "There will be other parties. Today, there's just us and the people we love."

Mako looked again around the temple. Naoki was bouncing up and down in Lin's lap, laughing. Tenzin was standing up at the altar, smiling, beckoning them forward.

Wu squeezed his hand. "You ready?" he asked.

Mako looked down at him. "I love you," he said. He hooked Wu's arm into his, and walked down the aisle.


End file.
